Uncle Brian!!!

Brian came for a visit today to check up on his nephews. As always we all were very excited to see him come and sad to see him go...

Halloween

Halloween was a big day for us. Michael was off from school (teacher workday), Joshua had a Halloween party and parade at his nursery school, we had Michael's birthday party, and then of course there was trick-or-treating. Here's a peek at our day:

Joshua and Tabitha (Snow White)

Miss Terri's class parade

Decorating pumpkins at Michael's Birthday Party

Ezra and his creation

Michael and his.

After the party was over Chris and I collapsed (we were both sick with a lovely bug the boys had traded throughout the week) and sent the boys to nap. With the threat of not being allowed to trick-or-treat the house was soon quiet. After we all woke up Michael decided he wanted to be Speed Racer for Halloween, rather than any of the superheros or various animals we have in our costume box (a mere 2 hours till trick-or-treat time). After some discussion I convinced Michael that no, I could not make a Speed Racer costume "real quick" but I did think we could put together a Luke Skywalker costume with the help of the hour old lightsaber from Ezra. The following is the best that we could do (apparently we don't own any cloaks...). Luckily, while he may look back on these pictures and groan, he had no qualms Halloween night about trapsing around in an inside out bathrobe... Having a lightsaber on your belt gives one a certain confidence.

Michael Turns SIX

Michael's turned SIX on October 29th and Me-ma, Pe-pa Tony and Kate came over to help celebrate. After Michael and Chris were done soccer practice we had dinner, birthday cupcakes courtesy of Kate--(Thank you!!) and then Michael opened his presents.

Making a wish...(Joshua gets a candle too.)

The remnants of a baby cupcake.

In one quick moment Michael became a Redskins fan for life. (Poor boy, little does he know the heartache he's in for!)

LEGOS!  Never was there a happier boy...

When Michael opened his present from Chris and I he said "I didn't think I was old enough for a skateboard!" It was quickly tested out by all...

Joshua's turn

Matthew's turn

Joshua and the Headphones

We came home from a visit at my mom's with some old tapes from when my siblings and I were little and Joshua was enthralled with them. He listened to them all afternoon and then in bed before he fell asleep that night.

Monday Afternoon Mom

On Mondays I am not usually a very good or effective parent. After staying up Saturday and Sunday nights I am tired and lack much patience. Luckily Chris has a flexible schedule and, at least this semester, is around on Mondays to be the lead parent.

A lot of Mondays after I wake up and Michael gets home from school we try to get out of the house and go DO SOMETHING. Today we took the boys to Wheaton Regional Park which has tons of room to run, playgrounds to climb and play on and, in the summer, they have a small train you can take rides on (does it get any better?!?).

playing in the kitchen

Playing Fort